IRVINE, Calif. -- The New Orleans Saints open 2024 NFL training camp Wednesday. Here's a closer look at a few key storylines:
Biggest question: Can Klint Kubiak turn the offense around?
The Saints showed improvement on offense at the end of the year, but their dreadful red zone production in the first half of the 2023 season was one of the reasons they missed the playoffs. The improvement wasn't enough to save longtime offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael's job, and the Saints have now overhauled most of the offensive staff under new coordinator Kubiak.
The Saints have embraced Kubiak's system and said all the right things in the first practices of 2024, but it won't mean much until the regular season begins. The new system and staff members mark the biggest change since the departure of coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees. Kubiak's success will be critical for the Saints to continue to move away from the old regime and find success under third-year coach Dennis Allen, who has a 24-46 lifetime record.
Most compelling position battle: Backup quarterback.
It's not often that teams draft Day 2 quarterbacks in back-to-back years. The Saints are in a unique position with young quarterbacks Jake Haener and rookie Spencer Rattler vying for the backup position behind Derek Carr. The Saints have usually had a veteran backup like Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill over the past five seasons. So far, it's Haener who has gotten off to a quick start in the early part of the offseason, but both players will likely be rotating in and out with the second- and third-team offense throughout training camp. That will give both an opportunity to develop and potentially secure the backup spot over the next month.
Player with the most to prove: Carr.
It might be strange to say that a 10-year veteran has a lot to prove, but this is a pivotal year for Carr, who needs to show the Saints made the right decision by signing him to a $150 million contract in 2023. Carr has admitted that the 2023 season was difficult in many ways. Injuries and public outbursts with teammates were part of the challenges in his debut season with New Orleans, a season that ended well offensively but had no postseason berth to show for it. Carr and the offense need to get off to a faster start than last year. That would go a long way toward winning over a frustrated fanbase that showed its displeasure both by selling tickets and booing the offense at home games.
Most impactful offseason addition: DE Chase Young.
The Saints didn't have a huge group of free agents this year, so perhaps Young gets this spot by default. It's hard to predict an outcome for Young at this point, as he's recovering from an offseason neck procedure that kept him out of OTAs and minicamp. If Young gets healthy, he'll be put into a defensive line rotation that has questions about age, production and health, likely giving him a big opportunity to show that he can be an impactful pass rusher for a team badly in need of more production on that front.